Range and Habitat: Fowler’s toads are common in the eastern United States, Ontario represents the northernmost extent of their range where they are far and few between as only some have become adapted to the local climate. Here, they are listed as endangered due to habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species. The development of shoreline has made a huge impact on these toads as it hinders the creation of new breeding ponds. The strong winds in Lake Erie move sand and cause erosion and flooding, in doing so, these winds both create and destroy important breeding wetlands. Often times when one is destroyed, the same winds create a new breeding pond. With the development of shoreline however, it has stopped many new breeding ponds from forming resulting in only the loss of these valuable habitats.
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Identification: Because this range overlaps with the eastern American toad, it can make identification difficult to the casual observer. Fowler’s toads tend to be lighter in colour, have a plain underbelly without freckles or spots, have reduced paratoid glands and small “warts” that are not as clustered and are never on the hind limbs. One of the preferred methods of identification however, is to smell the toads as Fowler’s toads tend to smell like peanuts. Both the American toads and Fowler's toads have been known to hybridize in some areas making identification difficult.
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Sources:
Campbell, Jane, and Kirsten Crandall. "Analyzing the Temporal and Environmental Preferences of the American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and the Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) in Long Point, Ontario." Academia, Redpath Museum Society Journal, Apr. 2015, d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/42391956/Behind_the_Roddick_Gates_ONLINE-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1636062470&Signature=JKDxZpTyB86CL7tQb1lKbWtzUjS-p0U8a4YwuyxhEHIJhOu6BwL9iMRwxNSt7hcmhZn8R. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021. "Fowler's Toad." Ontario Nature, 2021, ontarionature.org/programs/community-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/fowlers-toad/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021. Green, David M., and Christine Parent. "Variable and Asymmetric Intogression in a Hybrid Zone in the Toads, Bufo americanus and Bufo fowleri." American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Copeia, 2003, meridian.allenpress.com/copeia/article-abstract/2003/1/34/259200/Variable-and-Asymmetric-Introgression-in-a-Hybrid. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021. |